Tuesday, October 20, 2009

An update about work

It's been so long since I posted something on here, that I had to log in to the site all over again. Normally, Blogger remembers my password - I guess I passed the expiration date.

I've been a bit hesitant to blog about work. Not only have I been extremely busy getting us through a re-design and conversion from tabloid to broadsheet with all the template changes and system quirks that involves, but I've been busy interviewing people for open positions. I've hired two - now there's only one spot left. But it seems to be the hardest.

I've been reluctant to post something on here too because I know that anyone in my new office who decides to google my name plus "blog," or maybe just google my name, would eventually come across this blog. I'm not quite sure what is "safe" to blog about yet - being the boss and all.

But I guess I can say I've settled in to my new office a bit - kitty pictures are up on the wall behind me, bookcase and plants have been purchased at IKEA. I'm thinking of making curtains as well for my nice big window. The only problem? The ceilings are 12 foot tall.

On the home front, our floors are finally done. We got brand new ones after they ripped out the ones that didn't look too good, and our stove finally got hooked up again on Friday afternoon. Of course, the gas company says "anytime between noon and 4 p.m.," which turns into 5:30 p.m.... so I lost almost a whole day of work sitting here waiting for the gas guy. Oh well. I guess I'll have grounds for a BIG argument once the bill comes... Considering how much they are costing me, they should be paying me to sit here and wait...

I've got a pot of chili on the stove now and the antipasto squares just came out of the oven. Of course, with the floors now done, it means all those other home improvement projects we'd been putting off until the floors were done are now on the to-do list. Can of white trim paint, here I come!

3 comments:

Anne Sofie said...

Your days have been just as I imagined them to be... Getting the grips of a new job is a big thing, the new job being the boss must be a thousand times worse! Good your floors are finished. Pictures, please!

So you are going from tabloid to broadsheet; here in Sweden most papers have done the reverse. I don't know if there is a single broadsheet left! Why's the trend the other way round in the U.S.?

Vickan said...

Pictures have been posted!

About the broadsheet conversion... it's not so much a trend as just a schizophrenic situation with our company.

Several years ago, a few months after I started in Torrington, it was decided by a publisher or corporate or both that three newspapers in central Connecticut that shared content would be converted to tabloids (New Britain Herald, Bristol Press and Middletown Press).

It seemed like more papers would follow that route. However, many readers have expressed that they like the broadsheet papers, so two others stayed broadsheet - including the New Haven Register, which is the flagship paper and the central "hub" in Connecticut.

Earlier this year, two of the three newspapers from the group mentioned above were sold to a private owner, after almost getting shut down. This left Middletown Press to fend for itself as now the lone part of a work-triangle.

In order to be able to share content with the New Haven Register, which is now where the papers are printed, and in order to share a Sunday edition (Middletown doesn't have its own), the broadsheet conversion seemed like a good option. Now "the rest" of the papers in Connecticut are all the same.

Anne Sofie said...

Ah... But still, there are lots of broadsheets in the U.S. which I find odd. For the reader, the tabloid is easier to negotiate on the breakfast table (broadsheets are only good when it comes to reusing, to cover floor while painting or the countertop while repotting plants - maybe that's why your readers complain?) and it is certainly easier to edit and design.